


Take The Hint

by Ghost_Writing



Series: Overwatch One Shots and Drabbles [6]
Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Adorable, Angst and Romance, Angst with a Happy Ending, Boys In Love, Canon Gay Character, Declarations Of Love, First Kiss, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Humor, Fluff without Plot, Gay, Gay Male Character, Idiots in Love, Light Angst, Love Confessions, M/M, Reapbean, Reapbird, Reaper | Gabriel Reyes Redemption, Reaper | Gabriel Reyes is a Softie, Romantic Fluff, pride month
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-02
Updated: 2020-06-02
Packaged: 2021-03-03 22:41:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,903
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24503293
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ghost_Writing/pseuds/Ghost_Writing
Summary: Gabriel's been avoiding Jack for a while now. When he storms off when Jack asked to train with him, Jack decides to get to the bottom of things.
Relationships: Reaper | Gabriel Reyes/Soldier: 76 | Jack Morrison
Series: Overwatch One Shots and Drabbles [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1732453
Kudos: 55





	Take The Hint

**Author's Note:**

> Happy pride month y'all! As a member of the LGBTQ+ community, I tend to have a little special smile towards this month. So, any fics I will post/update during this month are going to have either a message to celebrate pride or involve a Queer couple.
> 
> For today's post, I wanted to do a little Reaper76 one-shot. These two have always had a special place in my heart, they have been one of my original OTP's since I first got involved in the Overwatch fandom. 
> 
> This got super fluffy while I was writing it, but hey, it does that.
> 
> So please, enjoy today's fic!

Jack watched as Gabriel stormed out of the training room. He’d simply asked to spar with him, to train. He did it with anyone, so why was Gabriel so mad?

He began to go after Gabriel as he stomped his way past everyone else and out the doors again. Gabriel had been back at Overwatch for two years now. He’d wound up one night on their doorstep, or rather, Jack’s doorstep, nearly passed out with smoke rolling off his form in an alarming way.

He didn’t know it was Gabriel at first, all he knew was the man called ‘Reaper’. But when one hand had raised up and removed the owl mask that had been obscuring his face, smattered with blood, Jack almost couldn’t believe it. 

He’d take Gabriel to Angela immediately and she’d gotten to work stabilizing him per Gabriel’s request. It had taken months to stabilize him and get him strong enough to move once more, but they’d managed it. Gabriel had figured out a way during his years in talon to shift his tattered form into a whole one and used it to his advantage, looking much like his glory days when Overwatch had still been new when they had fought omnics together.

Jack wasn’t going to lie to himself. The moment he’d found Gabriel outside the door to his headquarters, his heart skipped a beat at the long-forgotten and suppressed feelings towards his former friend resurfaced. He’d been quick to push them down once more, into the tiny box he kept them in. Far from anyone’s eyes or ears. It was for the best.

His feet slowed as the door to Gabriel’s quarters slammed shut. Jack was quick to reach out a hand and twist the nob, finding it still open. So, he pushed inside, trying to suppress the nerves building in his stomach.

Gabriel always kept his quarters tidy, everything had its place and everything was in its place. It contrasted Jack’s, which had everything strewn across the ground and any surface in a big charming mess. However, Gabriel had an old habit of keeping keep-sakes on his dresser. Old photo’s of their glory days, new photo’s of nowadays, tiny souvenirs he’d kept from each place they’d been too… you the place, Gabriel probably had something from it.

Jack found Gabriel kicking off his boots in the middle of the room. He copied him, putting his own away in the corner.

“Fuck off, Morrison,” Gabriel growled as he watched Jack put away his boots.

“Reyes, I will not simply ‘fuck off’. I only asked you to train with me, what’s the big deal,” Jack pressed, folding his arms over his chest and making sure the door was closed.

“I just didn’t feel like trainin’. What’s it to you?” Gabriel retorted, fishing out an old grey hoodie and pulling it over his torso.

“I’m just curious. You’ve been avoiding me for the past few days,” Jack clarified, keeping a neutral tone to the situation.  
Gabriel rolled his eyes and glared at Jack.  
“Then take the hint. Leave me alone.”

Jack scoffed, running his hand through his hair.  
“I’m not going anywhere, Gabriel.”

“Why not? Don’t you have better things to do than run after me and sweep up my messes?” Gabriel hissed, turning his back to Jack and moving to grab something from his bathroom, smoke billowing off of him.

Jack took note of the excess smoke coming off of Gabriel’s irritated form. It was more than usual, hinting towards this being a deep-seated issue. Something more than just annoyance.

“I don’t have anything better to do. You’re my best friend. Come on, just talk to me. Please?” Jack protested moving after Gabriel as he filled himself a cup of water.

“Pity,” Gabriel muttered, taking a sip of the glass.

“Why do you have to be this fucking frustrating Gabriel!? Are you mad at me? Or are you just using me as a punching bag?” Jack spat out in frustration, clenching and unclenching his fists now at his sides.

“If I’m that frustrating you can go. I wouldn’t want to bother yet another person with my shit,” Gabriel grumbled, gaze lowering to the floor as he chugged his water.

Had this been anyone else and Jack would’ve left. I would’ve ignored the meaning of those words and left. But this was Gabriel. He was never good at telling anyone anything, so it took mental effort to grasp the actual meaning of what he says. Luckily, after spending years with Gabriel, he had trained himself to notice it.

“Gabriel Reyes, are you really that stubborn? You don’t bother me with anything. I can’t just sit by and do nothing when you’re suffering so much,” Jack replied, his hand reaching up at tilting Gabriel’s face to meet his gaze.

Gabriel winced and pulled away, Jack’s fingers brushing against the spot. He hissed at Jack as he stepped back a little, cowering into himself.  
“Don’t touch me.”

Jack hesitated a moment before stepping forwards and taking the glass from Gabriel’s hand. He placed it on the counter before proceeding to wrap his arms around Gabriel’s middle, leaving his arms free but holding him still. If Gabriel wanted, he could phase out. But instead, he slumped against Jack, hands ghosting Jack’s back.

“How can you stand to even touch me…? I feel like death,” Gabriel mumbled into Jack’s shoulder.

“To me, you feel just fine. SEP always made me so warm, it’s nice to have a balance to that,” Jack replied, rubbing his hands on Gabriel’s back.

Gabriel started to shake. At first, it was just a shudder with a misplaced sniffle, but it grew until it reached full sobs, ripping through his body as the two of them stood in the middle of his bathroom. 

“W-Woah! Hey! Gabriel, are you crying?” Jack whispered in shock as Gabriel clung to him like a scared child.

“I’m not… I’m not the man I used to be, Jack. I don’t get how you can even stand to look at me, let alone be my friend still…” Gabriel mumbled between broken sobs.

Jack took a few steps back, guiding Gabriel towards the bedroom so he could sit somewhere comfy.

“But you are. You may not always look like who I used to know, but you’re still the man I used to love-” Jack froze, standing in the middle of Gabriel’s living room. He hadn’t meant to say it. Sure, he meant it, but he couldn’t just tell Gabriel that outright! 

He braced himself for a slap. For a kick to the balls. For Gabriel to shove him off of him and demand that he leaves his quarters. 

But it never came. The two of them stood in stunned silence in the middle of the room as Gabriel stopped sobbing, wiping his eyes with the back of his hand.

“Jack… who am I to you?” he suddenly asked.

“Gabriel, what do you mean? You’re my best friend,” Jack chuckled awkwardly as Gabriel pulled away from him, staring him in the eyes.

“You wanted to talk, Jack? You wanted to know why I was avoiding you so much? Then explain. What is this between us? What do I mean to you? Because I can’t keep living like this. Pretending. It’s breaking me apart,” Gabriel hissed, staring into Jack’s soul with tear-stained eyes.

Jack stayed frozen, searching for something to say as his gaze dropped to the floor.  
“I’m… I’ve… I’ve been trying to figure out how to tell you. I was going to tell you… eventually. I’m gay, Gabriel. I’ve known since the Omnic war. I just didn’t know how to tell you,” Jack sighed, staring at the carpeted floor as he waited for Gabriel to slap him.

“Jack, you dumb-son-of-a-bitch, I’ve known that since SEP. I asked you a question,” Gabriel’s hand raised to Jack’s jaw, lifting it up at resting his thumb against Jack’s bottom lip, “Who am I to you?”

Those eyes stared into his soul. The piercing red that always reminded Jack of fresh blood. Of the battlefield. Of the thrill of their glory days.

He couldn’t stop himself from leaning forwards, his hand reaching up and clutching Gabriel’s as he pressed his lips to Gabriel’s. He didn’t fight back, didn’t push him away, simply wrapping one hand around Jack’s waist and lacing his fingers around the other.

It was a hesitant kiss, neither sure of how far they could go with the other as they stood in Gabriel’s living room. Jack’s hand had found it’s way to Gabriel’s chest, resting against his strong pec’s.

The kiss felt like forever as they wrapped each other up slowly in their arms, hands holding the other close as they deepened the kiss, opening lips and slipping out tongues. By the time they pulled away, a thin line of spit connected the tips of their tongues as they panted for air.

“Jack I-” 

“Should’ve told me sooner?” Jack chuckled, his hand brushing against the stubble of Gabriel’s jaw.

Gabriel nodded, sucking in his bottom lip.  
“Damn near could’ve spent half my life with you if I hadn’t been a coward.”

“Guess you’ll just have to settle with the old man half,” Jack teased, smoke twirling around his fingers.

Gabriel shivered at Jack playing with the smoke.  
“Jack, you’re no old man. You ain’t eighty yet,” Gabriel chuckled.

Jack rolled his eyes playfully.  
“Such high standards.”

“What can I say? The great Gabriel Reyes demands perfection,” Gabriel announced in a sarcastic tone, wrapping his arms around Jack’s waist and chastely kissing him.

“I think I can live with that…” Jack whispered softly.

“So can I,” Gabriel nodded in return as Jack leant down to kiss him again.

When they pulled back again, something squeaked his name in Jack’s ear. He turned his head to see a small black ball with a white face chirping at him.

His hand reached up, holding the tiny bean carefully as it shouted “Die!” at him.

“Oh, yeah, that kind of happens…” Gabriel chuckled awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck.  
Jack raised an eyebrow as the ball continued to shout “Die!” and “Jack!”. It resembled Gabriel when he was Reaper.

“They’re apparently made of dead nanites. They kind of just, form somethings. It’ll disappear after a while,” Gabriel explained as Jack booped the poor creature.

It chirped in surprise and flattened against his hand. A chorus of “Die!”’s from it’s mouth.

“Well, it’s kind of adorable,” Jack mumbled, placing it atop his head. “What do you think, does it make a nice hat?”

Gabriel chuckled at the sight, another bean forming on his shoulder as it exclaimed: “repositioning”. 

“Very nice Jackie… but I think we ought to go grab some dinner. Don’t want the others to get the wrong idea,” Gabriel said, shaking his head as the new bean moved to Jack’s shoulder.

Jack raised his eyebrow at the name but didn’t say anything about it. It was kind of endearing, coming from Gabe at least.  
“You always ruin my fun with dinner. Who care’s what they think?” Jack huffed, moving to the door with his hand resting on Gabriel’s waist.

“Yeah, yeah. But you need food or you get grumpy,” Gabriel lectured him, opening the door.

The two of them stepped out of the room and headed towards the mess-hall. Today was certainly an interesting day, to say the least.

**Author's Note:**

> I do have a few Reader x ____ one-shots lined-up and one or two in progress atm. Keep your ears out for those, as they're always gender-neutral (personal policy).


End file.
